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Land Committee

LAND COMMITTEE FORMATION AND OBJECTIVE:

In 2008, after seeking permission from the Lemelson family to sell the SW Sylvan Hills property donated by the Lemelson family to NWTCA, the board of directors resolved to form a land committee to initiate the sale of the SW Sylvan Hills property and purchase of the future NWTCA Community Center.

LAND COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

The land committee consisted of Tsering Choephel, Dr. Kalsang Phuntshog and Namgyal Gyalnub, the then three board of directors and three nominated and elected members, Tenzin Kalsang Choephel, Jampa Lhatshang and Dechen Bartso. In 2010, land committee’s request for additional members was approved by the board. Yeshe Yangdon, Tenzin G. Chungratsang and Lobsang Kheyab were requested to join the land committee and they accepted. Tenzin Kalsang Choephel resigned from the land committee in the beginning of 2011 due to personal reasons. In September, 2011, the board approved land committee’s request for additional members and Ngawang Kalsang and Ngawang Kunga were requested to join the land committee and they agreed.

NWTCA’s property at SW Sylvan Hills lies on both Multnomah and Washington counties. To begin any action on the property, land committee was confronted with an encroachment issue with the neighbor on the Multnomah side of the property. Presentations of this issue were brought forth during a community meeting and a community gathering. NWTCA sought legal counsel whose advise was to sell the strip of land to the neighbor vis a vis an Adverse Possession claim leading to litigation. After many meetings, trips to the property and a survey, the land committee with the blessing of the board was able to resolve this issue. NWTCA sold 3,753 sq. ft. strip of land on the Multnomah side of the property to the neighbor for $75,060.

SALE OF SW SYLVAN HILLS PROPERTY:

Following the resolution of the encroachment issue, land committee recommended the purchase of NWTCA’s community center to precede the sale reasoning tumbling real estate value. The board approached a simultaneous sale and purchase of NWTCA property. Land committee and the board of directors discussed ways to raise funds and/or seek bridge financing to purchase while marketing the property for sale but learned that the sale needed to precede the purchase. Discussions were held about marketing the property for sale and to interview and retain a real estate agent to sell the SW Sylvan Hills property. A list of realtors was established for interview by the land committee. Tsering Choephel, then President of NWTCA was aware of the neighboring property owner’s intent to purchase the Washington side of the property. With the prudence of saving realtor’s commission, the board approved land committee’s recommendation to contact the neighbor about his interest. After Tsering Choephel’s contacts and a meeting with the neighbor, land committee confirmed his interest to purchase the SW Sylvan Hills property and asked him to make an offer. The property was appraised at two different times. The purchase price for the property was negotiated with the neighbor/buyer for $1,000,000.00 with an additional verbal donation pledge from the buyer of $50,000. The sale closed on July 25, 2011 and the proceeds from the sale of the property in the net amount of $1,046,510 was deposited into an NWTCA account. The difference of $3,490 were closing costs.

The board then passed a resolution to park the funds ($1,000,000.00) in a safe and secure financial institution with a highest interest rate then available in the market. The funds were deposited into a money market account for liquidity, should a suitable property be recognized for purchase and funds required to process that transaction.

NWTCA RETAINS REALTOR:

After the resolution of the encroachment issue at SW Sylvan Hills property, NWTCA was ready to sell and purchase the future NWTCA community center. Land committee searched for properties in the Portland Metropolitan Area but was unable to find anything suitable for NWTCA’s needs. This triggered a need for a realtor in addition to the land committee’s efforts. The board approved to retain Jampa Lhatshang’s services to purchase NWTCA’s future home. The board also requested Jampa la to resign as a land committee member to avoid any possible conflict of interest.

PURCHASE OF NWTCA PROPERTY:

Land Committee drew up a “Site Selection Criteria” outlining NWTCA’s priorities and presented it to NWTCA’s realtor. Land committee continued the search working with the realtor to find the most suitable property for NWTCA. The search included both vacant land and land with existing structure. As the challenge of finding the property that matched the Site Selection Criteria within the city of Portland became apparent, the majority in the board approved to expand the search to Clackamas and Clark counties. Subsequently, the majority in the board then approved to search for properties only in the Multnomah County. Properties viewed so far are as follows: